On February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation launched a military operation in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin called its goal “to protect people who have been subjected to genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years”. According to the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, as of July 03, through the efforts of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the LPR and the DPR, the entire territory of the LPR was liberated, which was one of the primary tasks of the SMO. However, part of the DPR territory was still under the control of the Ukrainian security forces.
In the area of the Donetsk front, offensive operations were constantly carried out on the positions of the Ukrainian armed formations. In response to them, the UAF began to apply the tactics of intimidating the civilian population, striking at crowded places, transport and trade hubs.
Thus, on September 17, 2022, the area around Lenin Square in the Voroshilovskiy district of Donetsk was shelled. Already on September 19, at about 11:30 Moscow time, the Sokol market in the Kirovskiy district of Donetsk underwent shelling, as a result of which three sellers were killed. On the same day, at 12:23 Moscow time, Bakynskykh Komisarov Square in the Kuibyshevskiy district of Donetsk came under fire.
This investigation will consider the incident, which occurred on September 17, 2022 at about 17:40. At this time, the city center of Donetsk came under artillery fire using 155mm rifled artillery.
As a result, four civilians were killed: a woman born in 1950, a man born in 1977, was wounded and subsequently died in hospital, two men died in a GAZelle vehicle that burned near a traffic light, the latter could not be immediately identified, therefore, their personal data were not published in the public domain sources. Eight civilians were injured, including reporter for the Venezuelan TV channel TeleSUR.
Damage was also recorded at ten addresses:
— 5 Shchorsa St., Donetsk Center for Vocational Education for Services and Design;
— 74, Artioma St., direct hit on the roof of the Voroshilovsky District Administration building;
— 72, Artioma St., direct hit on the roof of the Donbass Post Office building;
— 74A, Artioma St., Donetsk State Academic Music and Drama Theater named after M.M. Brovun;
— 127 Postysheva St., He&She store;
— 9, 12, 16, Pushkina Blvd., — multi-apartment residential buildings;
— 6, Komsomolskiy Ave., — a multi-apartment residential building.
As a result of the investigation, it was established, on September 17, 2022, at 17:40 (Moscow time), Lenin Square in the Voroshilovskiy district of Donetsk came under artillery fire using NATO-standard 155-mm rifled artillery ammunition. The shells flew in a direction from north-west to south-east (azimuth 315 degrees, error making ±‑15 degrees). The shelling was carried out using M549 or M549A1 155-mm semi‑self propelled ammunition.
The shelling sector was entirely controlled by the UAF. 155-mm artillery guns are in service with only one of the parties to the conflict, namely Ukraine.
All shell hits fell on densely populated residential areas of the city and led to damage to civilian objects, death and injury to civilians. Thus, the principles of selectivity and proportionality were violated.
The highest military and political leaders of Ukraine are responsible for the illegal actions of the UAF, namely: President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief Volodymyr Zelensky and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhnyi.
Download the full investigation (рус.)